Newly appointed New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet had a malignant tumor removed over the weekend and will spend roughly a week away from the newspaper's offices while recovering, he said in a staff email Monday morning, The Times reported.

Doctors discovered the tumor on Baquet's kidney on Thursday and thought it required "immediate attention," removing it on Saturday, Baquet wrote, according to The Times' story.

The surgery was "completely successful" and "minimally invasive," Baquet wrote, adding: "My doctors have given me an excellent prognosis."

Baquet was promoted to the top-editor job last month after his predecessor Jill Abramson was fired. He is The Times' first African-American executive editor and previously served as The Times' managing editor, the newsroom's No. 2 job. Baquet, who was previously a top editor at the Los Angeles Times, has not yet appointed a new managing editor in New York.